


The More You Know...

by cdreaiton



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BDSM, Love Confessions, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Temporarily Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-09 04:23:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8875825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cdreaiton/pseuds/cdreaiton
Summary: Tony finally gets up the courage to confess his feelings for Steve. Fun times ensue. But Tony wants something more. Will Steve be open to the idea of playing a little rough?





	1. The Shield

"...ony. Tony!" Bruce practically yells at his friend, whose attention he's been trying to get for the last several minutes.

"Huh?" Tony spins around in his chair and looks at the doctor, who gives him a smile and an exasperated sigh.

"Did you finish the work up on Steve's shield? Any improvements that can be made?" Banner asks with a small shake of his head.

"No. Nothing I found. Everything about him is perfect," Tony says, mentally yelling at himself for losing focus so noticeably.

"Him? The shield has a gender now?" Bruce side-eyes Tony with a teasing smile.

Realizing his mistake too late, Tony takes the out.

"What? You think 'she' fits better?" he asks with a dismissive wave of his hand, turning back to his schematics, "The shield's practically another member of the team with it's physics defying abilities. Might as well give it a name too. What about AmeriShield? Or Captain Saucer? Oooh. Disc of Death. I like that one."

Bruce laughs and shakes his head again, turning back to his own work.

"Run them by Steve. And have JARVIS record it. I want to see his face contort when you tell him your ideas for naming his weapon. Disc of Death. That's cute, Tony."

"Hey! I like the name. And just to prove how awesome it is, I'm gonna go find Steve right now and tell him the new name." Tony gathers up his tablet and heads for the door, his walk heavy with his usual swagger. Bruce's laugh follows him out the door.

***

"Wait, what? Why does my shield need a name? And what kind of name is Disc of Death?" Steve asks, looking up from his lunch with a look of pure confusion on his face.

"An awesome name, that's what kind. What, you don't like it?" Tony retorts, snagging a few chips from the Captain's plate.

"First of all it's a shield. It's used for protection," starts Steve, pulling his plate out of Tony's reach.

"Tell that to all the guys you bash in the face with it," Tony mutters halfway under his breath.

Steve glares at him and takes another bite of his turkey sandwich.

"Second of all," he continues, smacking Tony's hand when he reaches for more chips, "It doesn't need a name. It's a weapon. A tool. You don't name tools."

"Bullshit," Tony says, sneaking another chip when Steve flinches slightly at the curse word, "Everyone else's weapon has a name. Tasha calls her spider bites 'Widow Makers,' Coulson named that giant gun he used on Loki 'Retribution,' 'The Incredible Hulk' is obviously Bruce's weapon, all my suits are named 'Mark' something, Clint's bow is named 'Charlotte' after some French assassin or some such whatever, and Thor's hammer has an unpronounceable name, 'Mafudgenick' or something. Your shield needs a name too."

"It's not unpronounceable. It's Mjolnir, and it's older than Earth. Hulk is Bruce's hero name. Your suit names are just their model numbers, though they don't go in any kind of perceivable order that I can tell. Natasha calls them Widow Makers because they're hers, and they are. And Agent Coulson and Barton do stranger things than name their weapons. Just because they have doesn't mean I have to follow suit. And even if I did I wouldn't name it Disc of Death," Steve counters, quickly finishing his lunch to keep Tony from eating the rest of it.

"What about Star Spangled Smash? Frisbinator? Twinkle Twinkle Little Doom?" Tony offers, ticking his suggestions off on his fingers.

"No," Steve insists, hiding a smile by standing and taking his plate to the sink, "I'm not naming it. End of discussion."

"You are exactly zero fun, you know that?" Tony pouts, grabbing the bag of chips from the counter and popping a few in his mouth.

"So you've told me. Don't you have some project to worry about, other than naming my shield?"

"Technically, your shield is my project. I'm trying to see if there's any way to make it better."

"It's fine the way it is," Steve says sternly, glaring at the smaller man for emphasis, "Keep your genius explosions away from it."

"Hey! Not everything I make explodes. Although, in my defense, most of the things that do are _supposed_ to. They're bombs. That's what bombs do. Explode. Anyway, I wouldn't make any modifications without talking to you first," Tony retorts, feigned hurt in his voice, "Besides, even if something around it _did_ explode, it's made out of vibranium, not tissue paper. It'd probably be the only thing that survived the explosion."

"Tony..."

"Alright, fine. No modifications. Natasha's been bugging me about putting more power into her bites anyway. I'll work on those. What's your plan for the rest of the day" Tony asks, slipping the question in nonchalantly as he puts the bag of chips back in the cupboard.

"Training with Clint," Steve informs him, "We're working on new dodge techniques to keep him from getting hurt if he ends up being in close combat with someone stronger than him."

"Good plan. You'll have to show me whatever stuff you come up with. Well, back to work. See you later!"

Tony waves and disappears just as quickly as he'd appeared, leaving a thoroughly confused and disoriented Captain standing in the middle of the kitchen.

***

"You could go and join them, you know," Bruce comments over Tony's shoulder.

Tony looks up at him from the screen where he's been watching Steve and Clint train on the security footage and glares.

"Right. Cause the two trained fighters need me around mucking them up. I'll just watch, thank you," Tony responds, with more heat than he had anticipated, or meant.

Bruce puts a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Tony, you need to talk to Steve. Watching him from the shadows like this is borderline stalking behavior."

Tony bristles, and is about to deny watching the man with some excuse about hoping to absorb some of their techniques through visual osmosis, but then deflates suddenly, his face losing the mask of calm aloofness. He's known about his feelings for the Captain for a long time, and he isn't surprised Bruce noticed. They spend most of their time together, after all. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, suddenly exhausted from the strain of keeping it all inside.

"And say what, Bruce? That I can't stop thinking about him? That he's a perfect human being with a god-like body that I spend every waking and sleeping moment dreaming about touching? That hearing his voice in my ear during a fight is so distracting I turn my com off half the time just so I can focus on the task at hand? How exactly am I supposed to say those things to him?" Tony asks, turning back to the computer screen.

"You did just fine telling me. So what's the hold up?" Bruce questions, pulling up a chair and taking a seat next to Tony.

"Really? You think the straight-arrow, all-American boy from the forties is going to just take my confession in stride and be okay with it? Not a snowballs chance."

"Tony. He's not as straight laced as you think. Give him a chance. What's the worst that could happen?"

"He's disgusted by me and never speaks to me again. He kicks me off the team and I lose the only family I've ever had," Tony answers glumly, dropping his face into his hands.

"That's not going to happen. The worst that will happen is he says no. Probably 'I appreciate the compliment, but I'll have to decline.' Or something along those lines. He's too nice to stop speaking to you or kick you off the team. Talk to him," Bruce urges, placing his hand on Tony's arm and squeezing slightly in encouragement.

Tony sighs and retreats into his thoughts. After several minutes without response, Bruce gets up and returns to his work with a brief 'At least think about it' in parting. And he does. He thinks about it a lot. There's a lot to lose if Steve rejects him. Their friendship is tenuous at best, and has always been rocky. Losing that would be... unbearable. But at the same time... there's so much that _could_ be gained if Steve returns the feelings. There have been several times during conversations or playful banter in the kitchen or lab when Tony has had to stop himself from just leaning in and kissing the other man. He'd felt... something from Steve, but has never been sure of what it was. Maybe Steve does feel the same way about him, but has been waiting for Tony to make the first move. God knows with Steve's personality, the good Captain would never be the one to do it.

Making up his mind, Tony gathers his courage and steels himself against the possible rejection. Then he turns off his monitor screen, where the image of Steve and Clint shows him the two are finishing up their training session, grabs his coat, and heads for the door, sending up a pray to whoever is listening that this doesn't blow up in his face like so many other things.


	2. Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's kind of short again, but I wanted to get it posted for Christmas.
> 
> Merry Christmas!

Tony stands outside the gym Steve uses for training trying to gather up the courage to open the door. But before he can, Steve himself appears, nearly running into the startled Tony.

"Oh. Hello, Tony. I didn't expect to see you again until dinner. How goes the work on Natasha's bites?" Steve asks, tossing his towel into the bucket by the door.

"Fine. Excellent. You busy?" Tony says quickly, trying to keep himself from simply turning and running back to his lab.

"Not at the moment. Why? This better not be about my shield again," warns Steve with a suspicious look.

"No, no, I promise. No more trying to name the shield," Tony responds, flapping his hand in dismissal of the idea.

"Good. Something the matter?" Steve asks, voice worried, "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine. Just fine," answers Tony, running a hand through his hair as all his courage deserts him, "Actually, you know what? It's nothing. Never mind. Forget I was even here."

He turns to leave, but a hand on his arm stops him abruptly, the force of the grip startling him slightly.

"Tony, talk to me," There is kindness in Steve's voice and it gives Tony a tiny shred of hope that his idea of confessing might not blow up in his face completely, "I can see that something's bothering you. Talk to me about it, please. I want to help if I can."

After a brief moment Tony nods shortly and Steve releases his arm. He turns and walks up the stairs to his room and enters, Steve following right behind him. Tony shuts the door once they're both inside and pours himself a few fingers of much needed scotch. He offers a glass to Steve, but the super soldier turns it down, as expected. Downing the stabilizing agent in a few quick swallows, Tony then stands for a few more moments in silence, trying to figure out how best to tell the man what he needs to say.

Steve doesn't interrupt or demand he hurry. He knows how hard it can be to open up about a problem, and for Tony it seems to be doubly so. So he stands near the bar waiting for Tony to finish gathering his thoughts. It doesn't take him much longer.

"I guess the first thing I want to ask is if you're seeing anyone. Romantically I mean."

The question catches Steve off guard, much as the shield naming question had, and Steve's eyebrows shoot up and a slight blush tinges his cheeks.

"No. I'm not seeing anyone at the moment. Although not for lack of trying on Natasha's part. She seems to think every available SHIELD agent is viable dating material. Is my lack of a personal life the problem that has you so worked up?"

"No. Well, yes. I mean, not really but it's relevant," Tony stumbles through his own response, resolutely _not_ pouring himself another drink, "Look, I suck at this whole talking about feelings thing. So I'm just gonna be blunt."

"I'm not sure how my dating life, or lack thereof, is important, but I'm listening."

Tony takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair, breathing out forcefully.

"I like you," he says at last, and feels a huge weight lift from his shoulders at the admittance, as well as an even larger weight pressing down on his chest at the anxiety from not knowing how Steve is going to respond to the confession.

Steve doesn't say anything right away, which causes the weight to press down even harder. Then Steve takes a deep breath of his own and smiles at Tony. Then he steps forward, grabs the back of Tony's head, and pulls him in for a mind numbing kiss that leaves tingles on both their lips when Steve pulls away.

Tony stares blankly at Steve for a few long seconds, mouth hanging open slightly in shock. Then his usually brilliantly fast brain catches up to what's happening and he stumbles as he tries to find the right words for to respond to what just happened.

"Wha...? You...? Why...? Why did you do that?! You better not be making fun of me, or so help me, I will put on my damn suit!" Tony practically screams at Steve, breathing heavily and visibly confused and slightly upset, even though it is the response he was hoping for, if a bit more visceral than he imagined it being.

"Tony, I'm not making fun of you. I like you too. I have for a while. But I didn't say anything because I thought you and Pepper were together. Then, when I found out you weren't, I didn't know _what_ to say," explains Steve, looking at the ground and picking an invisible speck of lint from his shirt, "We hadn't known each other for very long, and I wasn't sure how you'd react. So I thought it might be easier to tell you if we were friends first. I've been trying to find the courage to talk to you for weeks. But, you beat me to it. And I figured a kiss would be a better answer than words. I'm sorry if it upset you."

"It didn't... you startled me, that's all. You really... really feel the same way about me?" Tony asks, still not able to believe what he's hearing, shaking his head to try and clear it just incase he's having an extremely vivid dream.

Steve nods and runs a hand down the side of Tony's face gently.

"I really do. Pretty sure a couple of people are rolling in their graves right now at the idea, but I don't really care."

"Just, give me a second," Tony says, pulling away from Steve and pacing around the room, "I wasn't actually prepared for this response."

"You do _want_ to be together, right? That was the idea behind this conversation?" Steve asks, suddenly unsure.

"Yes! It was, I mean I do. But weren't you raised to think it was wrong? Two men together, I mean."

Steve takes a seat on one of the barstools and fixes Tony with an unreadable look.

"I was. But just because I was raised a certain way, doesn't mean it's the right way. I was also raised during a time when men beat their wives if they disobeyed them, or burnt dinner. That was no more right than believing that only certain kinds of love are acceptable."

Tony's heart leaps into his throat at the mention of husbands beating their wives, and his traitorous dick takes notice of his excitement. He tamps down firmly on the feeling, because getting aroused at the idea of domestic abuse, culturally acceptable or not, is _not_ the appropriate response, and because after seeing Steve's face scrunch up with disgust at the idea of it, Tony is fairly certain Steve will think less of him for wanting something like that. He recovers quickly and stops pacing long enough to respond and change the subject.

"I see your point. But how is this going to work you being team captain and all?"

"I don't think we have to do anything special. We just need to remember that when we're working, the job comes first and we can't prioritize each other just because we're together." Steve smiles and goes over to Tony, pulling him in for a hug and a quick kiss. "I want to make it work. I don't just like you Tony."

"I don't just like you either," Tony confirms, initiating a kiss of his own, "So are we official then? We're dating now?"

Steve smiles and chuckles a little under his breath.

"Yes. We're officially dating. Would you like me to buy you flowers to mark the occasion?"

"Not really a fan of flowers actually. You know they're dead right? A plant corpse seems like such a strange gift to give someone," Tony responds, leaning into Steve's embrace with a smirk.

"Afraid I can't afford anything that would be up to your taste," Steve grins at him, looking at the opulence in room around him.

"What I want from you has no price. Besides, I always wondered what it would be like to be a sugar daddy."

***

When Tony walks back into the lab several hours later, Bruce takes one look at him and chuckles to himself.

"That good, huh?" Bruce asks his friend.

Tony gives him a grin that could light the entire state of New York. He runs a hand through his tousled hair and gently fingers the bruise that's peaking out from the collar of his shirt.

"They don't call him super for nothing."

**Author's Note:**

> I know the first chapter is kind of short, but I promise there's more fun stuff to come! Please let me know what you thought in the comments!


End file.
